My Worst Enemy
by SurferChick
Summary: Hermione finds out she has cancer. How will Ron react?


My Worst Enemy 

By SurferChick

A/N: Hermione discovers she has cancer. How will Ron react?  
  
D/C: I don't own anything except the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling, Scholastic, and all those people who are luckier than me.

~*~*~

"Can you believe all this studying?!" Ron exclaimed, looking at the big pile of books in front of him. "We've got, what, two weeks until the exams? And then we have a week left of school before graduation. That's less than a month of school left, and we're stuck inside doing homework. And look at it outside, it's…"  
  


"Shut up, Ron," said Hermione, who was very much on end. "You're not helping my concentration at all."  
  
"I was just saying…"  
  
"You were just saying that you were done, right?" said Harry pointedly. He had had enough of Ron's babbling, too, and he still had to study for Care Of Magical Creatures and Transfiguration.  
  
"Fine," said Ron. "I'll study."  
  
"Thank you," said Hermione and Harry at the same time. 

Just then, an owl flew in. It landed on Hermione's notes.

"Oh, get off," she said, her patience wearing thin as she shoved the owl away. "I don't have time for this right now."  
  
"It looks important," said Ron, prodding it with his finger. "Maybe you should take a look at it."  
  
Hermione looked at it again. "Oh, I'll bet this is from the doctor," she said, taking the note from the owl and letting it fly back out. 

"The doctor?" asked Harry.  
  
"Remember? I went there a couple weeks ago so I could get tested for something or other. I don't really know exactly. My parents set it up for me." She took the letter, but set it aside. "My parents sent it to me. I'll look at it later."  
  
"Are you sure, Hermione?" asked Ron. "I mean, your blood type might be on the exam tomorrow."  
  
She smiled. "Get back to work, Weasley," she said. He obliged. 

And that evening went by without another thought to that note. Hermione put it on her dresser and forgot about it for the next two weeks until the exams were over. 

"Am I glad that's over," she said to Parvati and Lavender as they walked in their room that night after taking their last exam-History Of Magic, which was the most boring of all their exams. 

"Me, too," they chirped together, then went on to talk about Lavender's new magazine that she had gotten that morning.   
  
Hermione sighed. "I don't know why I bother talking to those two," she said quietly to herself so they wouldn't hear. Just then her eyes fell on the letter, which was still on her dresser. "I forgot about this," she said, taking it and sitting down on her bed to read it. 

She carefully tore open the envelope. The top sheet was a letter from her parents. Hermione tossed it aside, thinking she would read it later. She looked at the results from her doctor's appointment. "Wait a minute," she said, taking out two other sheets of paper. One had pictures of her brain on it with all sorts of pen marks on it, and the other was a note from the doctor. It went like this:

_Dear Ms. Granger,_

_Your tests have been processed and you will be glad to hear that there's no trace of JB 213 in your bloodstream. We noticed something else that you should be aware of, however._

_If you look at the enclosed pictures that we sent you, you will notice a small white spot just to the left of your brain. It's a tumor. A cancerous tumor. It's moving rapidly towards your brain and I'm sorry to say that it is fatal. At this point, we can't do anything about it. News like this is always met with the question "How long do I have?" You have approximately five months to live._

_Again, I'm sorry that I have to bring you such bad news. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call me at my office number._

_Sincerely, _

_Dr. Vartan_

Hermione was frozen. She stared at the letter, then moved her eyes to the pictures. She could see the white spot now. She moved her fingers over it, then over the place on her head where it would be. "Oh, no," she said softly. 

Parvati and Lavender looked at the change in their roommate. "Hermione?" asked Lavender gently. "What's wrong?"  
  
At that, Hermione burst into tears and ran into the bathroom. They shrugged and went back to their magazine.

Hermione stood in front of her mirror, arms propped up on the sink. She finally looked up at her tearstained face. "Five months…" she whispered, touching her head. "Five months…"  
  
~*~*~

She knew she had to tell her friends soon. Graduation was only in a week. But she didn't know how. At least, she didn't know how to tell Ron. She couldn't explain it, but she had a feeling that it would be harder to tell him than Harry. 

She headed to the common room the day after she found out, knowing that they'd have to find out someday. Someday soon.

But they weren't there. She headed down to the Great Hall, thinking she could tell them at breakfast.

She went and sat next to them. She had apparently walked in on one of their Quidditch debates, and they went on as she buttered her toast. She only half-listened to their conversation and instead thought of the conversation she should be having with them right then.   
  


Then she thought of their reactions. Would they…they'd probably make her take the day off of classes. True, the exams were over and they weren't really studying anything, but Hermione had never missed a class. That is, if you don't include the time where she was in the hospital wing in her second year. Or when she had fallen asleep and missed Charms in her third year.   
  
But other than that, she was spotless. So she decided to tell them that night. 

But as she walked up with them, laughing and actually enjoying herself, she found herself putting it off even more. 

She ended up waiting the day before graduation to tell them. She found Harry in the common room, reading a book about wizard's chess. He had vowed to beat Ron before the year was out and he didn't have much time left. 

Hermione sat next to him on the couch. "Hey, Hermione," said Harry, only lifting his eyes from his book for a moment to see who it was.

"Hi," she said. "Where's Ron?"

"Probably cowering in fear somewhere," said Harry, his nose still in the book. "He knows I'm going to beat him tonight, and he's scared."  
  
Hermione managed to smile. Harry finally put his book down. "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing the change in her. 

Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out the pictures Dr. Vartan had given her. Harry took them and studied them for a second. 

"Hermione, what is this?" he asked, confused. 

Hermione took a deep breath. She pointed out the white spot. "Do you see that?" she asked. Harry nodded. "That's…a tumor," she said, not looking at him.

"A tumor?…"

"I have cancer, Harry," she finally blurted out. "That doctor's note that came for me a few weeks ago? That was it. I only opened it a couple days ago."  
  
"But…" Harry had turned pale. He was at a loss for words. "That's impossible…"  
  
"I have five months to live," said Hermione. The tears finally came. "Five months. That's it."  
  
"No," said Harry. "You…you can't have five months…"  
  
"I do," said Hermione.   
  
"You know what we're going to do, Hermione?" asked Harry, his voice shaking. Hermione looked at him, puzzled. "We're going to prove these doctors wrong. You…you're going to get better, and you're not going to die…"  
  
He broke off and hugged her. She sobbed on his shoulder. He cried a few tears himself.   
  
"Does Ron know?" he whispered after a little while.  
  
"No," said Hermione. "It's too hard…"  
  
"Tell him," said Harry. "I know it'll be hard, but you'll feel better, I promise."  
  
Hermione nodded and Harry held her tighter. 

They didn't notice a certain redhead boy standing at the portrait hole, witnessing all of this, with a tear of his own running down his cheek.

~*~*~  
  
"Ginny!" called Ron the next day. He was sitting in the common room on the couch that Hermione and Harry had been sitting on the day before. His sister had just woken up and was coming down the stairs to the common room, still a little sleepy-eyed. She looked over at Ron, then joined him on the couch.

"What is it?" she asked, yawning.   
  
"Ginny, wake up," he said, shaking her. "Look, I have to talk about something really important with you."  
  
"Define important."  
  
Ron sighed, wondering if he should tell or not. At last, he realized he had no choice. "Hermione's dying," he whispered.  
  


That woke Ginny up. "What?!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide open.  
  
"Shh, keep your voice down," Ron whispered. "She has cancer, I overheard her telling Harry about it last night."  
  
"Cancer…"  
  
"I don't know what to do," said Ron, leaning back in the couch. Ginny leaned back with him. "I mean…I feel so powerless against this thing. I want to save her, but I can't…"  
  
He broke off. A tear slid down his cheek. Ginny, who was already crying, asked, "How long does she have?"  
  
"F…five months," he stuttered. Ginny sighed deeply. "I always thought we'd be murdered by Voldemort. That's how I thought the four of us would die. I never thought…"  
  
"She can beat this, Ron," she said. "She'll beat this." She hugged him. "OK, we have to make it look like we haven't been crying." She took out her wand and muttered a spell under her breath. The redness and puffiness was gone from both their faces. 

  
Ron closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I love her," he finally said. Ginny looked at him, not at all surprised. "I love her so much…and I don't want her to go…"  
  
"Tell her," said Ginny. "Tell her today."  
  
"I can't," said Ron.  
  
"You'll regret it if you don't. Seize the day."  
  
Ron looked at her and slowly nodded. "You're right," he said. "I have to tell her."  
  
"Good. Here she comes now."  
  
Ron's eyes went wide and he quickly slid down on the couch. "I can't tell her!" he whispered quickly under his breath.

Ginny sighed. "Honestly…Hermione! Harry!"  
  
Ron looked at her frantically. "Are you crazy? Do you want to ruin my life?"  
  
Ginny looked at him sternly. "At least you have a life to live."  
  
Hermione and Harry came over and sat by them. "Hey," said Hermione. "What are you guys talking about?"  
  
"Nothing," said Ron a little too quickly. But if Hermione noticed, she didn't say anything. "Let's go down to breakfast," he continued. "I'm starving."  
  
The other three followed him down. Ginny kept on kicking Ron through the whole meal, which earned her a lot of glares.   
  
"This is weird," said Hermione. "Our last breakfast here."  
  


"You're right," said Harry. "So, what are our favorite memories at this table?" They spent the rest of the meal exchanging stories. Right before owl post came, Ron got up. He couldn't take it anymore.

  
"Where are you going?" asked Hermione. He looked into her eyes and had to swallow before answering.

"Just…freshening up," he said, scurrying out of there. Hermione frowned, but her attention was diverted with the owl post. A familiar owl had stopped at her place. She took the letter and shooed the owl away. She opened the envelope and read the letter.   
  
"Oh, my…" she said while reading it. She handed it to Harry. He read through it quickly, let out a sigh, and hugged her.

~*~*~

Ron was pacing around his dorm after he had rushed up there. His mind was going in a million different directions. _I can't tell her…but I love her…she's dying…I have to tell her…_

Harry came up to find him like this. "What's up?" he asked. "Why'd you storm out of there like that?"

"I told you," said Ron. "I was freshening up."   
  
"Since when is pacing around considered freshening up?" he asked. 

"Shut up," said Ron.

"Put on your graduation robe," said Harry. "We have to be down there in ten minutes."  
  
Ron hurriedly put his on, then walked down to the Quidditch field with Harry. It was a perfect place for graduation-it was outside, the flowers were starting to bloom, and there was a lot of room for the many guests that were there. Not only were the parents of the wizard or witch who was graduating was there, but all the aunts and uncles and cousins and so on and so forth were there. It was packed. 

Ron and Harry quickly found his family. It was easy to spot their red hair in the crowd. George and Fred were whistling and calling, Mrs. Weasley was crying, and even Percy managed to show some emotion.   
  
Ron waved to them, and also waved to a shaggy black dog that was standing next to Dumbledore on the stage. He could've sworn it winked back at him.

"Well," said Harry.   
  
"Well," said Ron.

"I'll see you on the other side," Harry said, leaving to go find his alphabetical seat.

Ron stood there for a second, then sat in his seat in the back row, second to last. Suddenly, he felt an hand on his shoulder. The tingles going down his spine told him who it was.

"Hey, Hermione," he said, getting up quickly. He hugged her.   
  
"Hi," she said. "Listen, Ron, I need to talk to you."

"I need to talk to you, too," he said nervously.  
  
"Ron…"  
  
Professor McGonagall came up behind them. "Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, we're about to begin," she said. She was smiling. They smiled back.

"I'll talk to you afterwards," she said. She kissed him on the cheek before going to her seat.

Ron sat down slowly, his hand on his cheek where she kissed him. "Snap out of it, Weasley," said Blaise Zabini next to him. He glared at her, but it didn't last long because all the faculty walked down the middle of the aisle, led by Dumbledore. Everyone in the stadium stood up.   
  
Once Dumbledore got down to the front, everyone started clapping. He let it carry on for a moment or two, then motioned for everyone to sit down. 

"Welcome one and all to the graduation of Hogwarts next class!" he said. "I have a speech prepared, and then we will carry on with the ceremony!"

Ron hated to admit it, but he tuned out Dumbledore for the first part of his speech. His mind was in a different place. He knew what Hermione was going to tell him about her cancer. What would he say? Should he tell her he already knew? That he overheard her and Harry talking? Or should he just try to act surprised?  
  
Suddenly, Dumbledore said something that brought his attention back to the present. "I hope, that in your time at Hogwarts, you don't regret anything," he said. "I don't mean a bad grade on a test or anything. I mean the things that really count. The friendships you've made here. The things you've learned about life. The things that really matter. I just hope that in your seven years here, you've learned those things and don't regret ever having learned them, whether it be about happiness or sadness, power or loss, love or hate."

He paused for a moment, and suddenly, all Ron's thoughts came clear. _I have to tell her, he thought, and it took every ounce of self-control in his body to not leap across the sea of heads and kiss her right that moment. _

He still had to wait for the rest of his class to get their diplomas first. _Why do my parents have to have the last name Weasley? he wondered. __Why not something that starts with A or B? _

He was visibly fidgeting by the time they got to his name, and Blaise poked him. "Go fast," she whispered. "I want to get out of here."

He got his diploma, shook hands with Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, and winked at Harry and Hermione as he walked back to his seat. 

Afterwards, there were refreshments of all different kinds on tables that had been magically carried out there. Ron caught up with Harry and Hermione right away, and he said goodbye to many of his classmates, most of them for the last time.   
  
Suddenly he got grabbed by Mrs. Weasley. He instantly turned red, and Hermione went over to her parents and Harry went over to scratch the black dog's ears.

After talking with his family for a short length of time, he finally said that he had to go say goodbye to his old friends. Mrs. Weasley nodded, hugged him one last time, then apparated home with the rest of the Weasley's. 

Ron looked at the crowd for Hermione. He finally spotted her as she said goodbye to her parents. He went up to her after her parents left for the Floo Powder Room (set up specially for Muggles).   
  
"Hi, Ron," she said.

"I need to talk to you," he said, taking her hand and pulling her aside from the rest of the crowd. 

"I need to talk to you, too," she said. She started to say something, but Ron stopped her.

"Please, can I go first?" he asked. "I need to say something that I've been keeping inside of me for way too long." Hermione nodded. "Hermione…I know you have cancer." Her eyes widened and she started to say something again. "No, I'm sorry, I overheard you telling Harry yesterday." He started talking rather fast, like she would die at that very moment. "And I was thinking about all the good times we had over the past seven years. Those were really good times. I thought you were my best friend, Hermione. But you're not." This time her eyes widened more. "I love you," he finally said. "I'm in love with you, and I'm going to stand by your side through this whole thing, and we're going to beat it, Hermione, I know we are, because…we don't deserve it…"  
  
"Ron!" said Hermione cutting him off as he was just babbling by that point. "I'm not dying."  
  
"What?" asked Ron, who was now more confused than she was.

"After you stormed out of the Great Hall at breakfast today, I got a letter from my doctor," she said. "They mixed up the x-rays with me and someone else. Ron, I don't have a tumor in my brain. I'm not dying."  
  
He looked at her for a second, then swept her up in the biggest hug she had ever received. "Hermione, this is great!" he exclaimed. He set her down. He was smiling widely. "I'm so happy for you." Then his smile disappeared. "I can't believe I just said all that to you. Before…"  
  
"Shh," said Hermione, putting her fingers on his lips. "I love you, too."  
  
He leaned down and kissed her, the most gentle and loving kiss she had ever received. 

It was just as good as they imagined.

~*~*~

A/N: OK, I admit, mixing up the x-rays is not very likely, but it could happen in my little world. And by the way, the doctor's name is a tribute to Michael Vartan, my favorite actor. I love you, Michael!


End file.
